Just walk across the room

Beginning Sunday, the 3rd of Augusts, we will be working through the 4 week study by Bill Hybel’s called, “Just Walk Across the Room.” 

I noticed this past year that many youth have a difficulty with taking the first step in evangelism, which is simply just walking across the room and beginning a conversation with somebody, befriending them as an expression of God’s love, and asking the right questions to see where God may be working within their life in drawing them closer to Himself through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Here is an excerpt from Publishers Weekly,

His form of evangelism is relational, what he calls “Living in 3D.” Hybels enlarges on the three Ds—develop friendships, discover stories, discern next steps—in a clear, conversational way, all the while challenging Christians to move beyond their insulated “evangelism-void vacuum.” He encourages Christians to explore “the power of story” and to learn how to tell their own spiritual narratives concisely and effectively. Readers will find inspiration and honesty in this book that mirrors Hybels’s personal convictions and those of his church as well: “It really is true: the spread of the gospel… boils down to whether you and I will continue to seek creative ways to engage our friends, inviting them to explore the abundance of the Christ-following life….” (bold mine)

So get ready to work through this series and may the LORD utilize this training to better equip and prepare all of us to simply walk across the room

Weekly Announcements

There will be youth group tomorrow night from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.  So make some calls to remind others and invite your friends!

Appalachian Impact deadline is next Wednesday, the 16th of July.  If you are planning on going we will need your $20 deposit on or before that day. 

Next week I need 3 volunteers to help me glean-out some gutters and trim some bushes in Charelston.  The work should take no longer than 1 1/2 hours and we will begin by 10:00 A.M.  Afterwards I will treat the lucky 3 volunteers to lunch!

Jose Pablo and Christian

Abandoned to the streets as young boys, they suffered rejection and abuse, but the Lord has restored them to a life in Him and they are coming this Wednesday from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.!  Don’t miss hearing the testimonies of two young Colombian men – Christian and Jose Pablo!  Don’t forget to bring your friends.

 

Remember…

there is no Sunday School this coming Sunday.  Instead of class we will be gathering together with everyone else and eating a bunch of great breakfast food from 9:15 A.M. to 10:30 A.M.  We ask that everyone bring enough for themselves as well as enough to share.  If you don’t have the ability to bring anything, don’t sweat it!  You still need to come out and enjoy meeting some new people and eating some great food. 

LORD willing see you then.

For tonight…

we will be cooking some hot dogs over a fire beside the Picnic Shelter.  I just plan on picking-up some potato chips and miscellaneous condiments, so you may not want to come on a completely empty stomach.  Well, then again, you may want to fill-up on marshmallows?  My wife would probably be mad if she knew that I suggested the latter option.  

Anyways, major “kudos” to the Poole family for allowing us to ram-sack the freezer full of left over hot dogs from Anna’s b-day bash.  Thanks! 

Look forward to seeing all of you tonight. 

 

Appalachain Impact Update

This week we should have finalized the Appalachain Impact Trip!  We are still waiting to hear from a couple of people that may be interested in lending us their vehicle.  If you are, please let me know!  This week, hopefully by Wednesday, we will have all the information that you need to sign-up.

At the moment we have reserved 3 pontoon boats for our Thursday at the lake.  2 of the boats are double deckers that have slides on them. 

We will also have a special guest with us for the week.  None other than Joel Russel himself. 

I will get you more information when it is available.

this week…

we will be gathering together on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. and not 6:30 P.M.  Beginning this Wednesday I plan on working through the topic of prayer.  We will be looking into why we pray.  Afterwards we are going to pray. 

Following this time of devotion and worship we will look to head outside for a game that is yet to be determined.  By the way, does anyone have any suggestions or ideas for Wednesday’s game?  Looking for something that is team building. 

Lord willing see you Wednesday!

Almost the Final, Survivor Challenge Update

Even though last night marked the end of our Survivor Challenge, I am still waiting for the scores from all of the teams. 

Last night was a wet and enjoyable night!  Thank you Benji for pouring a whole coffee can of water down my poncho!  I really appreciate. 

After a wonderful meal prepared by Bill Lamachia (Chicken Parmesan) we welcomed several new guests, mostly coming from Putnam County.  Although I graduated from Nitro High School, I still have nothing but love for those of you representing the Dots and Generals. 

After worship and the lesson stemming from 1 Timothy 4.12 on “Breaking the rope that hold’s us down” (more on this later) we had an excellent challenge in the Water Cup Relay.  The object of the challenge was for all of the teams to line up in a single file line behind an empty coffee and three plastic cups with holes punched in them.  At the other end of the field, nearly 20 yards away, was a cooler full of water.  The first person in line for each team had to grab one plastic cup, race to the cooler full of water, fill-up their cup, run with it over their head, and pour whatever water was left inot the coffee can.  Whoever had the most water in the coffee can after 15 minutes was the winner.   

Last nights winner was team Azul, with all the other teams tying for second. 

After the final scores are tabulated, it looks as if the Flaming Flamingos and Independents will be battling for the top nod and a team party. 

Then, one individual winner will be selected to win a $100 gift certificate.  The individual winner does not have to be a part of the winning team but they had to earn the most points throughout the past 6 weeks. 

The final results will be posted sometime towards the end of this week or the beginning of next. 

So I encourage you to check back later. 

Survivor Challenge Update

For those of you keeping up to date on the scores, here they are after 4 weeks:

Flaming Flamingos with 208

Independents with 157.5 (missing week 3 scores)

Larouch (formerly the Indecisives) with 136

Azul with 131 (missing week 3 scores)

So it looks like the Flaming Flamingos have take a strong lead; however, we are still waiting to get the scores from week three from team Independents and team Azul. 

For the other two teams that have fallen behind, no need to worry, a strong week or two with a lot of guests would put you right in the thick of things. 

Thanks for all of those that have been participating.  I hope this has been a fun and challenging month.  We may run with it for a couple of more weeks. 

For our challenge this upcoming week Justin Lamachia has something up his sleeve (major kudos to Justin for brainstorming the Strobe Light Dodgeball game). 

Lord willing see you all Sunday or Wednesday.

 

Survivor Challenge Update

Greetings all!

At the moment I have only 2 score totals turned in.  With that being said, the Flaming Flamingos had 75 points from last week, while the Indecisive came in at 27 points. 

We are still waiting to hear from team Azul and INDEPENDENTS. 

This week our challenge will be a game of Ultimate Frisbee.  We will have 2 games going on simultaneously and the winner of those games will play each other while the lose of the first 2 games will play each other. 

Wish you all the best and may the LORD further empower and encourage you as you serve as His shinning light in a world of darkness.  Don’t be afraid to take big steps by the grace of God in connecting with your friends and acquaintances for the purpose of connecting with God through Jesus Christ!

Lord willing see you Wednesday evening.